Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Crypto exchange FTX is trying to regain $1 billion in a lawsuit against founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and some former executives. FTX’s new management argues the funds were misappropriated through dubious deals and transactions made before the coin trading platform went bankrupt last fall. Failed Crypto Firm FTX Files New Lawsuit Against Founders and Chiefs FTX Trading , the company which operated what was one of the largest crypto exchanges, sued its founder Sam Bankman-Fried and other former executives on Thursday in an attempt to recover more than $1 billion they allegedly diverted. Besides Bankman-Fried, among the defendants named in the suit are co-founder and former FTX Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang, former CEO of SBF’s Alameda Research hedge fund Caroline Ellison, and former FTX Engineering Director Nishad Singh, Reuters and Bloomberg reported. The complaint filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, accuses them of misappropriating and using the money to ...

The exchange rate of the Nigerian currency versus the greenback recently plunged to an all-time low of NGN860:USD1. The naira’s depreciation has been attributed to shortages of foreign exchange on the official market and the rising demand for forex. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has revoked the licenses of nearly 2,700 bureaux de change (currency exchanges). Widening Gap Between Official and Parallel Market Exchange Rates On July 20, the Nigerian currency reportedly hit a new low of NGN860 per dollar on the parallel market. The currency’s fall widened the gap between the so-called import and export weighted average rate (NGN773:USD1) and the rate offered by black market dealers. According to a Reuters report , the currency’s plunge followed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s decision to float the naira, which was made shortly after Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inauguration as the Nigerian president. The report added that the naira’s depreciation came a week before the CBN mone...

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has asked Congress for more funding for his agency to address “risks in the crypto markets.” In a Senate hearing, he stressed: “We’ve seen the Wild West of the crypto markets, rife with noncompliance, where investors have put hard-earned assets at risk in a highly speculative asset class.” SEC Seeks More Funding to Police Crypto Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), talked about cryptocurrency during his testimony on Wednesday before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government regarding the SEC’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget request. “I am pleased to support the President’s FY 2024 request of $2.436 billion for SEC operations, to put us on a better track for the future,” Gensler told lawmakers. After outlining “tremendous growth” and changes in the U.S. capital markets, the SEC chairman stated: We’ve seen the Wild West of the cry...

Bitmain, the mining rig manufacturer, has announced the launch of a new rig that mines the digital currency filecoin (FIL). Similar to the company’s KAS Miner KS3, the new FIL miner carries a hefty price tag of $38,888 per machine. Bitmain Introduces On-Rack Filecoin Miner Bitmain announced Thursday that it will begin selling a newly manufactured Filecoin (FIL) mining rig. Filecoin, a decentralized, blockchain-based storage network, was launched by Protocol Labs in 2017. Its mining algorithm, known as proof-of-replication and proof-of-spacetime, was originally designed to resist application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) in an effort to encourage decentralization. Despite this, Bitmain and other manufacturers have developed ASICs specifically for mining FIL and also offer FIL cloud mining contracts . In the announcement on Thursday, Bitmain stated that the on-rack filecoin miner will be sold throughout the day on Friday for $38,888 per unit. Bitmain detailed that the machin...

Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, the New York-based couple implicated in the alleged laundering of $4.5 billion in bitcoin pilfered from the 2016 Bitfinex cyber-attack, have reached a plea bargain, as revealed by recent court records. The pair is scheduled to appear before U.S. judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on August 3, 2023, and will be mandated to surrender all cryptocurrency assets and funds they possessed prior to their apprehension. NY Duo Set to Surrender More Than $2.8B in Historic Plea Deal The Department of Justice reported the arrest of Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan on February 8, 2023, for purportedly conspiring to launder proceeds from the theft of 119,754 bitcoins from Bitfinex. Morgan was granted bail in July 2022 with permission to seek lawful employment but her husband remained incarcerated. Now, one year after Morgan’s release on certain terms, both individuals have struck a deal with the government. Court documents filed on July 20 and 21, 2023 indic...

Australia’s securities regulator has canceled the license of the local FTX entity, allowing it to perform only limited financial services. These will be related to the termination of derivatives with clients and arrangements to compensate retail customers. ASIC Revokes Financial Services License of Crypto Exchange FTX Subsidiary The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced it had canceled the financial services license of FTX Australia, a company owned by the failed crypto exchange FTX which filed for bankruptcy in the United States last fall. “ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) license held by FTX Australia Pty Ltd (FTX Australia), effective from 14 July 2023,” the regulatory body said in a press release published Thursday on its website. Under the cancellation terms, FTX Australia will be permitted to provide limited financial services related to the termination of existing derivatives with clients until the end of July 12, 2024...

Ethena, a protocol that seeks to build a banking system independent stablecoin, has announced that it has raised $6.5 million in its seed round. The round, led by Dragonfly, aims to help issue Ethena’s decentralized stablecoin product in Q3 2023, which was inspired by an article written by former Bitmex CEO Arthur Hayes. Stablecoin Protocol Ethena Raises $6.5 Million in Seed Funding Round Ethena, an Ethereum stablecoin protocol, has raised $6.5 million in its seed round. The funding round led by Dragonfly Capital also had the participation of former Bitmex CEO Arthur Hayes and some derivatives exchanges such as Deribit, Bybit, Okx, Gemini, and Huobi. Ethena’s goal is to bring to fruition a stablecoin that has no connection with the traditional financial system. The protocol was inspired by the “ Dust on Crust ” Arthur Hayes article, where he explains how a stablecoin can be constructed using delta-neutral techniques, derivatives, and onchain collateral. Ethena uses the concept o...

Importers are accusing the Central Bank of Argentina of stalling on the delivery of dollar-based payments under the pretext of high freight costs. According to importers, the Argentine government considers freight costs exceeding 15% of the value of the merchandise imported as an inconsistency. Central Bank of Argentina Delays Dollar Disbursements to Importers The government of Argentina is now being accused of delaying the delivery of dollars to Argentine importers by using freight costs as an excuse. According to Argentine economist Ignacio Olivera Doll, the government is using a limit for the cost of freights that hadn’t been applied before, as a basis for these actions. The government has denied dollar requests for freight payments whose costs exceed 15% of the value of the merchandise transported. Argentine importers, as a result of exchange controls, need to receive dollars via government approval to conduct their operations. Customs General Manager Guillermo Michel denied ...

South Africa’s top diplomat responsible for BRICS relations has revealed that more than 40 countries are interested in joining the economic bloc. Among them, 22 nations have formally applied for membership. He believes that the BRICS group could expand to include more than 50 countries. BRICS Group Attracts More Than 40 Nations Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s top diplomat in charge of BRICS relations, and officials from the South African foreign affairs department shared the latest stats on BRICS membership applications in a press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday. South Africa will host this year’s BRICS summit. The economic bloc comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Sooklal revealed that 22 countries have formally asked to join the BRICS. He was also quoted by Reuters as saying: An equal number of countries … have informally expressed interest in becoming BRICS members … (including) all the major global south countries. Countries interested in joining th...

JPMorgan has warned of the risks to the U.S. dollar’s dominance from escalating U.S.-China tensions and political instability. The global investment bank’s strategists anticipate “partial de-dollarization,” in which the Chinese yuan gradually assumes a more significant role in global trade. JPMorgan on De-Dollarization Threat Global investment bank JPMorgan has warned that the dominance of the U.S. dollar could be at risk due to rising tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as concerns about political instability within the United States. The firm’s strategists, led by Jan Loeys and Joyce Chang, explained in a report published on Tuesday that the markets are not adequately factoring in the risk of a “rapid and deep” decline in the U.S. dollar’s status as the preferred currency for global reserves and trade. They detailed: If U.S.-China tensions intensify and we get more global fragmentation, it would likely lead to de-globalization in trade and finance … In finance, it cou...

The Federal Reserve has launched its Fednow Service for instant payments with 35 participating banks and credit unions, as well as 16 service providers. “The Federal Reserve is committed to working with the more than 9,000 banks and credit unions across the country to support the widespread availability of this service for their customers over time,” the U.S. central bank stated. Fednow Officially Live The Federal Reserve announced Thursday that its new system for instant payments, the Fednow Service, has launched with 35 participating banks and credit unions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and 16 service providers. Participating financial institutions include BNY Mellon, JPMorgan Chase, Peoples Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank. “The Fednow Service is designed to maintain uninterrupted 24x7x365 processing with security features to support payment integrity and data security,” the Federal Reserve detailed, adding: The Fednow Service is ne...

A Turkish court has sentenced Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, to an effective seven months and 15 days in prison. During the trial, Özer denied being an executive of the crypto exchange when the platform allegedly failed to furnish the Tax Inspection Board with the documents requested. Appointment of Trustee Reportedly Made Submission of Requested Documents Impossible A court in Turkey has sentenced Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, to just over seven months in prison for failing to furnish the Tax Inspection Board with the documents it requested. However, according to a report in the Hurriyet Daily News, the Anatolian 17th Criminal Court of First Instance has since agreed to delay announcing the verdict as well as the implementation of the sentence. As explained in the report, Özer, who was arrested in Albania in Aug. 2022, claimed that he was not a company executive when the alleged crime w...

French banking giant Societe Generale’s subsidiary, Forge, has been issued with the first crypto services license issued under the country’s crypto assets laws. According to France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the license allows Forge to offer services which include crypto custody, trading, and sales. License Said to Enable Forge to Meet Institutional Demand for Digital Assets Forge, the crypto division of France’s banking giant Societe Generale, recently received what is being described as the first crypto services license issued under the country’s crypto assets laws, a report has said. French market regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) stated on its website that the license allows Forge to offer services which include crypto custody, trading, and sales. According to a Reuters report , the license given to Forge does not subject the Societe Generale’s subsidiary to the same onerous rules faced by other crypto entities, particularly in the areas of corporate gove...

PRESS RELEASE. BitKeep , a leading multi-chain wallet, has joined forces with the Solana Foundation in an exciting collaboration aimed at promoting the growth and evolution of the blockchain landscape. This strategic partnership combines BitKeep’s robust wallet solution with Solana’s high-performance blockchain platform, providing a comprehensive solution to existing scalability and throughput concerns in the industry while placing users at the forefront of industrial innovation and evolution. BitKeep, with its secure and convenient asset management services, has integrated with the Solana mainnet , allowing users to safely store, transfer, and conduct both single-chain and cross-chain transactions on the Solana network in a seamless manner. Additionally, BitKeep users can also expect to leverage Solana’s vibrant ecosystem and interact with popular decentralized applications (DApps) all from the convenience of their BitKeep Wallet. BitKeep Wallet is also listed on the official Solan...

The CEO of investment management firm Ark Invest, Cathie Wood, has explained why her firm’s confidence in bitcoin’s price reaching $1.5 million has increased. Citing the crypto’s performance during the regional bank crisis earlier this year, she stressed, “That was the flight to safety,” emphasizing that bitcoin is the insurance her team believes “everyone will want at the end of the day.” Ark Invest’s Bitcoin Price Predictions Ark Investment Management (Ark Invest) is now more confident in bitcoin’s price reaching $1.5 million per coin. The firm’s CEO, Cathie Wood, said in an interview with Bloomberg Monday: Our confidence has increased toward the bull case. The bull case Wood referred to was one of the three scenarios Ark Invest outlined in its annual Big Ideas 2023 that was published in February. In the firm’s base case scenario, the price of bitcoin is projected to reach $682,800 by the end of December 2030, while the bull case scenario envisions BTC soaring to $1.48 mill...

U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has unveiled two new reforms for bitcoin if he is elected president. He plans to back the U.S. dollar with the cryptocurrency and eliminate capital gains taxes on the conversion of bitcoin to USD. RFK Jr. stressed that his administration’s mission is to make America “the global hub of cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin.” Kennedy Administration Plans to Back US Dollar With Bitcoin U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled several bullish plans for bitcoin if he is elected president during his speech at a Heal-the-Divide event on Tuesday. Kennedy is a son of former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The presidential hopeful began by outlining the reforms he previously promised regarding BTC , stating that his administration’s mission is to make America “the global hub of cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin, as a means of incentivizing ...

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that the U.S. economy will face “more than a recession” if he is not elected president. Trump also made several other promises, including getting Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to make a deal with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “very quickly.” Donald Trump’s Warnings Former U.S. President Donald Trump made several promises and predictions during an interview with Fox News Sunday. He was asked about his plan to get the U.S. economy growing again and whether he thinks the U.S. is going into a recession. “If people think Trump is going to be elected, you’ll never have a recession … because people will start investing,” the former president claimed, adding: If people think I’m not, you’ll have more than a recession. You’re going to have a depression. “But, what I would do is very simple. I’ve got to get interest rates down. We have to get rid of inflation because inflation is a country killer,” he stressed, noting that the Bi...

The leaders of the BRICS states will discuss the organization’s enlargement when they meet in South Africa, the country’s president indicated. The summit is set take place in August when over a dozen countries will hope to be given a path to membership. Nearly 20 Nations Aspire for BRICS Membership, SA President Ramaphosa Says Leaders of the five BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will talk about the group’s expansion at their summit scheduled for August, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed. Ramaphosa told the SABC radio: As we speak now, close to 20 or so of others want to join BRICS and they want us to admit them into the BRICS family. So, at this summit, we are also going to be discussing the prospect of whether BRICS grows beyond the five countries or not. Media reports and official statements in the past few months have unveiled that a number of countries are seeking to become BRICS members. In April, South Africa’s Ambassador ...

National Australia Bank (NAB) has joined other major lenders in the country in blocking payments to some cryptocurrency exchanges. The banking institution said it’s introducing new customer protections regarding financial transactions with certain scam-related crypto platforms. Australia’s NAB Bank Intervenes in $184 Million Worth of Payments That Raised Scam Concerns National Australia Bank, one of the four largest Australian banks, is restricting transfers to certain high-risk crypto exchanges. On Monday, the lender announced it’s introducing new blocks on digital asset platforms where scams are more prevalent. Between March and July of this year, NAB customers abandoned payments for more than $270 million Australian dollars (almost $184 million) after receiving scam alerts from the bank. Nearly half of scam funds reported to the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange in a recent 30-day period were linked to cryptocurrencies, the bank noted. Chris Sheehan, NAB executive for group...

An economist with the Heritage Foundation has warned about the potential calamity of the U.S. dollar losing its reserve currency status. He stressed that “The Biden administration has taken so many actions to dethrone King Dollar that it would be difficult to rank them all by their destructiveness.” Economist Warns Biden Administration’s Actions Threaten U.S. Dollar’s Reserve Currency Status Heritage Foundation economist and research fellow E. J. Antoni sounded the alarm on the potential calamity of the U.S. dollar losing its reserve currency status in an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, published Sunday. “The Biden administration has taken so many actions to dethrone King Dollar that it would be difficult to rank them all by their destructiveness,” the economist stated, warning: Losing reserve currency status … would mean 70 years of deficits flooding back to the U.S., all competing with existing dollars held domestically to buy goods and services. That’s a hyper...

U.S. lawmakers have called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to drop its regulatory assault on the crypto industry following the landmark ruling on the SEC v. Ripple case regarding XRP . “The SEC has chosen to communicate and regulate not by clear rule or guidance but by enforcement actions, often politically timed,” one congressman described. Congressmen Urge SEC to Stop Regulating Crypto by Enforcement U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) wrote a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler on Tuesday regarding how the SEC should regulate crypto following the landmark ruling on the SEC v. Ripple case regarding XRP . “I’m writing to inquire if the SEC intends to come to terms with the folly of the Commission’s crusade against crypto assets in light of the latest decision by Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York,” he began. “Needless to say, regulation by enforcement had a dreadful day in court.” The lawmaker c...

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler says the SEC could benefit from making greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in several areas, including enforcement and market surveillance. However, he also raised a number of concerns associated with AI, emphasizing that the regulator is currently developing rules to address AI-related challenges. Gary Gensler on AI Benefits and Challenges U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler discussed AI and the challenges surrounding it, including the impact on financial stability, in his remarks before the National Press Club on Monday. “Today’s AI-based models provide an increasing ability to make predictions about each of us as individuals,” he described. “Models have been developed to assist in making decisions about who gets jobs, loans, credit, entry to schools, and healthcare, to name a few. This raises a host of issues that are not necessarily new to AI but are accentuated by it.” Noting...

Fintech company Wallex.US has launched a new non-custodial crypto and defi wallet app. The app offers a secure and encrypted way to store, send, and receive more than 150 cryptocurrencies. It also provides real-time chart monitoring and analysis capabilities, as well as easy Pay & Get Paid function. The app is designed to be safe, free, and give users full control over their crypto assets. Wallex Opens New Gateway for Web3 Users Wallex.US , a global fintech company, has recently launched a new non-custodial crypto and defi wallet app that is set to revolutionize the way users store, send, and receive cryptocurrencies. The app offers a user-friendly, innovative, and secure solution for managing digital assets, giving users the freedom to control their own money. The wallet is already available for iOS on Apple’s App Store and for Android devices on Google Play . One of the key features of the Wallex.US app is its non-custodial nature. This means that users hold their own keys a...